The Christmas Tree / Punchline (Part 1) / Prom Night / Punchline (Part 2) - (Animaniacs Vol 4 Part 23) - 'Toon Reviews 39

If you like this review and want to stay updated for what else I have in store, become a follower of this blog, click here to like the official Facebook page, and click here to follow me on Twitter. Now on with today's review:

Episode 98

The Christmas Tree

Once again, an episode contains a Christmas cartoon despite the fact that nothing else relates to the holiday in the slightest.  To make things even more baffling is how the entire episode opens with a Christmas variant of the theme song when it’s not a total Christmas show.  However, that’s not the only issue with this cartoon.  

You may remember that in spite of a few exceptions, Slappy Squirrel has been largely devoid of the cartoon violence edge that defined her since the show’s beginning.  Instead of showcasing such acts as an art to live by, most of her performances have involved getting roped into situations that annoy her more than anything.  She hasn’t even used anything creative, cartoonish, or extreme to turn things around.  For at least the first half of this cartoon, an impression is brought that her cartoonish angle has been dropped entirely in favor of portraying her as an old squirrel and nothing more.  

This is a shame because there’s a lot of nice wholesome values in the first few minutes of the cartoon.  Scenes of a tree in a Canadian forest getting cut down and later set up and decorated for the Christmas season at Rockefeller Center give a warm feeling of the holiday.  It’s also felt with sights of carolers and ice skaters around the center seen throughout the cartoon.  

Truthfully, once Slappy is first seen and becomes the cartoon’s focus, things go down significantly.  It is normal for characters to end up in sporadically different roles and occupations in this series.  That’s the nature of ‘anything goes’ cartoons, and Slappy has had her share of them, but no matter how characters are portrayed, they succeed for being true to their basic role.  This is not the case for Slappy in this cartoon.  I’m fine with her living in the wild and having her tree uprooted to be in Rockefeller Center. Without an emphasis on her being a master of cartoonish arts though, this isn’t the true Slappy Squirrel.  She might as well be any old squirrel hibernating, storing food, being treated like a mad squirrel for animal control to take away, and having always lived in a forest.  She’s also portrayed as dumb, blind, and absent-minded which were never traits of her character.  When she goes out for nuts she stored for the winter, it never occurs to her that she’s not in the forest, not even when she uses an ax to get to the nuts within a donut shop.  When she does notice the cityscape, it still takes her forever to realize she’s not where she thinks she is. She claims they built a city around their tree and mistakes an electric box for the Christmas lights as chipmunk neighbors with tiki lamps.  Slappy may not be ethical, but she’s never been this dense.  

It’s undeniably frustrating that she’s like this for much of the cartoon, but thankfully, she starts acting true to herself in the second half.  When she finds out she’s in New York and not the forest, she’s upfront with her stance and takes it to the Rockefeller Center CEO.  She’s like a generic protester on first encounter, but when he blows her off, she really taps into her cartoonish antic side.  She and Skippy decide to make the CEO see what it’s like to have his home moved by bulldozing his house off its property into the streets of Time Square.  It’s a mildly humorous showing of Slappy’s true comic capabilities and comes with hilarious encounters with homeless people for the CEO.  This is what it takes for Slappy’s conflict to be resolved, but nothing is learned as Rockefeller Center just uproots another home for their tree; the Warners’ water tower.  At least they’re respectful enough to shut out the lights when they ask.  

While this cartoon is enjoyable and decent Christmas material, it’s hard to get fully invested for how much it strays away from what one of the show’s best characters is all about.  Being the final Slappy Squirrel cartoon makes this an even bigger sting.

B-

Punchline Part 1: Why Did the Chicken Cross the Road?

Among many characters getting their last time in the spotlight in the episode is Chicken Boo.  In fact, I believe that what’s done here is practically the best thing ever done with the character.  

Everything unfolds in a spoof on news shows which specializes in finding deep meaning in one of the oldest jokes in recorded history.  The simple riddle of why the chicken crossed the road is humorously treated with sophisticated and dignified speculation reserved for the true big mysteries of current events.  This alone is a strong enough setup for the following sketch.  Chicken Boo himself poses as a news reporter whose microphone apparently needs fixing with his partner, Ted Foppel doing all the interviewing.  

Broadening the appeal of the news show is this being another instance of bringing different members of the cast together for the common cause.  Ted calls upon a vast assortment of supporting characters to explain why they think the chicken crossed the road.  Pinky and the Brain make another surprise appearance in something very telling of their dynamic.  Brain gives an intellectual hypothesis of how the chicken crossed the road while Pinky, simply cuts to the truth that one of the reporters is a chicken but Brain thinks nothing of it.  The Goodfeathers are welcome additions to the topic as well. Their lack of knowledge on what happened comes with Pesto’s famous rant and Squit beatings based on a misunderstanding.  Easily the most surprising character in this matter is Runt who hasn't been in the spotlight for ages.  Though he’s arguably the dumbest of all the major players, he’s the one who settles the matter once and for all.  Through tracking a scent like dogs tend to do, he exposes Chicken Boo for his true species, answering the question that the chicken crossed the road to get to the news studio.  Chicken Boo may be chased away, but it’s impressive that he doesn’t really get ridiculed this time.  Brain even tries to insist that his theory is still right even when clearly proven wrong.  

This is an overall great take on news shows and shows what can be done with a simple joke with the proper execution.  There’s still more to this concept, but first here’s another cartoon…

 

Prom Night

At first glance, it can get upsetting that the penultimate episode of the entire series features a cartoon starring the worst character in the cast, Katie Ka-Boom.  However, as the final cartoon of this kind for the series, measures are taken to make it bearable.  In fact, it may be among the most bearable instances of Katie mercilessly threatening her ‘wonderful family’ with her extreme temper.  

She’s pleased to announce that she’s been invited to the senior prom despite the fact that she’s only a sophomore and technically too young for such an affair.  The catch is that she doesn’t plan on stopping at just the prom.  She also wants to go all out with her preparations and stay late after the prom for other festivities.  Her parents are actually in the right to point out that there’s something wrong with her excessive demands and insist that she follow a curfew.  

Given how Katie has been written for much of the series, Katie doesn’t take not getting exactly what she wants well.  Just the mere suggestion of a curfew is enough to put her in the monster mode.  The subject of a prom fittingly has Katie take the form of a roaring green creature in a purple dress with corsages as a disco ball appears overhead.  As for her family, like in all the other cartoons, they’re unjustly at the mercy of this anger, treating it like a legitimate war situation with no shred of humor.  

When Katie really gets out of control though, the standout element of this performance occurs.  Her dad knows that a curfew is what’s most appropriate and no matter how Katie rampages, he sticks to it.  This gets Katie to actually back down and slowly start to go along with the curfew right down to suggesting an appropriate time.  A compromise is met, and Katie goes from monster back to human in the calmest manner ever.  It hardly matters since her family is still in fear from her and the house still gets destroyed, but it is noteworthy growth from many of her other starring roles.  

Katie Ka-Boom is still a major sore spot in the series, but thanks to her family being brave enough to stand up to her for once, at least the cartoons have a good finish.

B

 

 

Punchline Part 2: What Came First? The Chicken or the Egg?

This is just a short segment continuing off of the idea of Punchline, this time giving an extensive news coverage approach on determining whether the chicken or the egg came first.  All it takes is an egg falling on Ted Foppel to convince him that it was the egg that came first, and it’s further proven with Chicken Boo falling on him afterwards.  That’s all there is to it, but it’s still a very funny take on a very standard riddle.

After seeing Punchline in just one episode, I kind of wish it became a recurring segment, at least for the last season.  The concept is fresh, what’s done with simple riddles is ingenious, and allowing core supporting characters to offer perspectives is a nice well-rounded touch.  Even if these segments exist here and only here, I can at least consider them one great way to send the series off…at least until the true series finale coming up next.

A+

Cartoon Ranking

1.      This Pun for Hire

2.      The Brain’s Apprentice

3.      Magic Time

4.      Bully for Skippy

5.      Wakko’s 2-Note Song

6.      Go Fish

7.      From Burbank with Love

8.      A Very, Very, Very, Very Special Show

9.      Valuable Lesson

10.  The Sound of Warners

11.  Night of the Living Buttons

12.  Dot’s Entertainment

13.  Pitter Patter of Little Feet

14.  Boo Happens

15.  Buttons in Ows

16.  Cutie and the Beast

17.  Boo Wonder

18.  Star Truck

19.  The Sunshine Squirrels

20.  Boids on the Hood

21.  Back in Style

22.  Our Final Space Cartoon We Promise

23.  Yabba Dabba Boo

24.  The Boo Network

25.  The Carpool

26.  The Party

27.  The Girl with the Googily Goop

28.  Mindy in Wonderland

29.  Jokahontas

30.  Gimme the Works

31.  Ten Short Films About Wakko

32.  Hooray for North Hollywood Part 1

33.  Papers for Papa

34.  My Mother the Squirrel

35.  One Flew Over the Cuckoo Clock

36.  Hooray for North Hollywood Part 2

37.  Amazing Gladiators

38.  Prom Night

39.  Cute First (Ask Questions Later)

40.  Soda Jerk

41.  The Christmas Tree

42.  Hercules Unwound

43.  Belly Button Blues

44.  No Time For Love

45.  Acquaintances

46.  Oh Say Can You See

47.  Soccer Coach Slappy

48.  Anchors A-Warners

Song Ranking

1.      Dot – The Macadamia Nut

2.      The Ballad of Magellan

3.      Hello Nurse

4.      Bones in the Body

5.      Noel

6.      The Big Wrap Party Tonight

7.      When You’re Traveling from Nantucket

8.      Panama Canal

9.      Multiplication

10.  Here Comes Attila

Miscellaneous Ranking

1.      Punchline

2.      It

3.      Gunga Dot

4.      Mighty Wakko at the Bat

5.      Ralph’s Wedding

6.      End Credits

7.      Moosege in a Bottle

8.      Rugrats Parody

9.      The 12 Days of Christmas

10.  Flavio Commercials

11.  The Return of the Great Wakkorotti

12.  Pinky and the Ralph

Be sure to stay tuned for the review of the last episode of the series with a big emphasis on the huge Animaniacs cast and its music, including a moving musical tribute to everything great about the series to send everything off in style.

If you would like to check out other Animaniacs reviews on this blog, click here for the guide made especially for them.

2001 Parodies / Soccer Coach Slappy / Belly Button Blues / Our Final Space Cartoon (We Promise) / Valuable Lesson - (Animaniacs Vol 4 Part 6) - 'Toon Reviews 39

If you like this review and want to stay updated for what else I have in store, become a follower of this blog, click here to like the official Facebook page, and click here to follow me on Twitter. Now on with today's review:

Episode 81

2001 Parody (A)

You can tell that the bulk of this episode is going to have a special theme to it as the first thing seen is a parody of a scene from one of cinema’s artistic feats 2001: A Space Odyssey.  

In this bumper, the Warners act out its interpretation of early man in one of the earlier scenes from the film.  Like the Neanderthals in the parodied material, they find a big black rectangle known as a Monolith.  However, because this show tends to work comedy into everything it covers, the Monolith is actually a big TV.  As part of the joke, the Warners freak out like cavemen when the first thing they see when they turn it on is Baloney the dinosaur.  They calm down when the channel is changed to the WB logo.  As Yakko later says perfectly audibly, now if only they can reset the clock.  Leave it to this show to successfully bring comedy to one of the most striking scenes in cinema history.  

However, there are more fresh takes on 2001 to come in this episode.

Soccer Coach Slappy

It’s really hard to believe how hard Slappy Squirrel cartoons falter without the emphasis on cartoon violence as an art that defined her throughout the series.  The cartoons she stars in during the Kids WB era place her in mundane situations that she takes on as a merely disgruntled old squirrel, and there’s no antic-fueled edge.  While the cartoons she’s had so far in this era have had some sort of stand-out tie-in to her established character strengths, this one is her at her least engaging.  

Slappy has taken on the role as coach for Skippy’s soccer team and approaches it as a standard open-minded figure.  The only traits truly in line with her character are constant pop culture references and statements of wanting to get home in time to watch something.  That’s nice and all, but it’s hardly enough to define the best of Slappy.  Actually, Slappy herself is more of a supporting player in this cartoon with Skippy being the one to get the most focus.  

The result is one of the least funny and most mundane routines in the series.  He keeps getting hit in the face with the soccer ball which causes him to cry.  Unlike his constant crying in “Bumbie’s Mom” which was over a much more understandable cause for distress, the crying here is just pathetic.  It’s so incessant, so loud, and over something not nearly as bad as he makes it out to be.  In fact, this late in the series, it feels like Skippy should be over crying this much.  He later adds on talking in a dazed disposition resulting from getting hit, but that just makes the setup more confusing.  This is still repetitive, but talking all dazed is much more appropriate to expect from Skippy.  Why not just stick with that and forget about the crying?  No wonder even his voice actor, Nathan Ruegger, hated the idea of him constantly crying.  Also repetitive is how Slappy insists that Skippy just sit out of the game as Skippy refuses.  I would admire his boldness if Skippy had legit merit in constantly wanting to keep on playing, but every time he keeps on playing, he’s still getting hit in the face.  What’s even the point of going on with this routine that really isn’t all that funny to begin with?  

Anyhow, because of his insistence to play despite getting hit with the ball, Slappy finds the perfect spot for Skippy. He serves as a goalie in the World Cup, and getting hit in the face is enough for the US to win a game.  I suppose it’s a decent enough payoff to everything in the cartoon, but is it really worth Skippy continuing to cry?  It still doesn’t come with any funny expressions or creative outcomes, so it’s still a pretty shallow and lacking end to the cartoon.  The premise is far below Slappy’s great original standards, and there's nothing strikingly funny to walk away with.  It may not be so bad as a cartoon by itself, but it’s one of the Kids WB era’s harshest reminders of how much things have changed not necessarily for the better.

D+

2001 Parody (B)

Since the episode opened with a parody of the prehistoric scene, it’s fitting that it has another bumper parodying one of the space scenes in 2001: A Space Odyssey.  It follows the Warners in a spaceship as Wakko space walks out to another Monolith all set to the Blue Danube piece like in the original scene.  The comedic catch is that the Monolith is actually a big remote this time, and turns Jupiter into a TV that displays the next cartoon.  It’s once again a respectable parody in bumper form, and they get a strong payoff later on.  

First though, it’s time to endure a cartoon starring the blackest of all sheep in the cast…

Belly Button Blues

Yes, even after so many weak cartoons starring her, this stretch of episodes continues to give us cartoons starring Katie Ka-Boom.  Granted it’s only two cartoons, but you have to wonder what the crew even sees in her and why an episode would need her to fill up airtime out of other characters to showcase.  This wouldn’t be a problem if the featured character was more likable and the premise was actually funny, but most cartoons starring this character are the show at its worst.  I understand the clever visualization of a girl seeming nice and turning monstrous, but with believable fear surrounding her destruction on her family, there’s no enjoyment.  Thankfully, the Kids WB era allows for much more understandable reasons for the rage of Katie Ka-Boom.  

For one thing, when she comes down in a new fashion style that’s well noted for exposing her belly button, it’s instantly rejected. Her mom says clothes like that aren’t fit for this family, and her little brother, Tinker, won’t stop making fun of seeing her belly button.  These instances are legitimately inconsiderate of Katie’s tastes and choices that really no one should have a say in.  They’re also really foolish, especially on Tinker’s part for teasing his sister like that despite how well-known how violent her rampages can get.  The only innocent moment is Katie’s dad, unaware of the whole situation, commenting on her belly button.  Too bad this is what has her go into monstrous mode.  

Right on cue is Katie’s big monstrous transformation suitable for the scenario as a big green creature roaring out clothes with a big green vortex representing her belly button.  It’s still not very funny considering the legit fear and carnage from the destruction, but as Katie states she’s not changing her clothes, it’s still easy to understand her side.  For the first time, it sounds like she’s not being accepted for what she likes.  However, understandable is not the same as justifiable given how she doesn’t even care about what she’s destroying.  This is cemented by her nonchalantly getting a jacket to cover her clothes and belly button because it’s cold.  With her inconsiderate attitude towards what she caused and her family still not accepting what she likes, it seems like no one really wins.  

There are still flaws galore with Katie Ka-Boom, but thankfully this cartoon has some form of merit to it as well.

B-

Our Final Space Cartoon We Promise

Those two 2001: A Space Odyssey parodies have led up to this entire cartoon playing to a famous sequence near the film’s end.  

Resembling mankind in the distant future traveling through the void of space, the Warners are presented waking up from hyper-sleep in a spaceship set to autopilot.  There’s a funny jab at the idea of suspended animation as well as the idea of Tang powdered orange juice that they’re offered for breakfast.  All this joking around, however, gets the attention of the autopilot system, AL, an obvious spoof on the dark system from the parodied material, HAL.  Like the real thing, AL is very monotone over his dominance onboard the ship as well as annoyance for the Warners not complying with his customs. 

It should be obvious by now though that annoyance is what the Warners specialize in.  No matter what threat AL brings, the Warners stick to their comedic mindsets and show very little worry, instead cracking a lot of jokes over everything he says.  When AL threatens to cut off life support, the Warners go into an escape pod to talk, flat out telling the system not to read their lips like the real HAL did.  This turns out to be unnecessary as they don’t even say anything.  They just sit around and make faces despite apparently agreeing that it’s ok to wear white shoes after Labor Day in space.  

Then in taking out AL, they don’t do it because he’s dangerous but rather because he’s simply really boring.  He still keeps talking even when the plug’s taken out, but that’s merely a setup for a joke.  Because he’s long and droning, AL is actually Al Gore.  Really this should be a jab at any politician.  Using specific names is enough to effect the timelessness of this show, even if it already has been effected several times.  It’s standard to end on a joke, but I honestly can’t imagine a fresher take on one of the most celebrated movies in history.  

Also note how it’s true to its title as literally no more cartoons in the series after this one take place in space.

A

On the whole, the works parodying 2001: A Space Odyssey are simple when it comes to jokes and funny interpretations of scenes, but still work as a comedy-driven version of the film.  Maybe it’s not one of this show’s finest parodies, but it’s successful in what it sets out to do.

A

Valuable Lesson

If cartoons want to teach morals, then more power to them.  However, I believe that it should be a conscious choice as opposed to an obligation from airing on a kids’ network.  This cartoon is a successful jab at the idea of shows being forced to tone down its edge and teach its audience something.  It’s the very thing to come from a show with a vast collection of adult jokes that sneak under the radar and offers problem solving through gags instead of talking things out.  

While the Warners are using extreme gags to deal with a rampaging Attila the Hun, they’re quickly stopped by the presence of network censors.  They question them about the messages they’re trying to send the viewing audience with all their violent gags, but the Warners think nothing of what they say.  With that, the cartoon goes into full-on fourth wall shattering mode as the censors drag the Warners off to their offices for a reeducation on what kids’ shows should be like.  

Backing them up is a total fluff piece of a kids’ show, The Snugglers, a spoof on The Smurfs.  With a clear knowledge on the typical convention of shows aimed just for kids, this is a true dead-on satire of what stock children shows are like.  It tries so hard to be cutesy and gentle that it totally lacks heart.  Morals are also incredibly unsubtle as one episode has everyone sit around having cloying conversations and sappy songs about why people get angry.  I believe the Warners have a perfect reaction to something like this.  

However, the censors further prove their point when they show a difference between kids who watch The Snugglers, and kids who watch the Warners’ cartoons.  The kids who watch The Snugglers feel like they’re just acting a part with their statement of moral values sounding so phony.  You can say the same about the kids watching the Warners’ cartoons as they greet someone by blowing them up.  Still the Warners have the right idea as they find much more entertainment in the violence from the kids who watched their cartoons.  They add onto it by getting the censors to demonstrate what they’re not supposed to do by pulling explosive gags on each other when they can’t put their demands to words.  

Without explaining anything, the idea is made clear that the success of this very show makes morals nonexistent.  It works because it’s free to do what it wants and doesn’t work in morals because they’re not part of its nature.  Should censors really bear down on the show, it would compromise what makes it so unique.  Yet, there’s still room to make their demands work with the presence of Attila the Hun.  He spends the cartoon tracking down the Warners, and when he reaches them, the censors try to defend them, and get beaten themselves.  The catch is that their beating happens off-screen so it happens, but doesn’t show any legit pain, making the scene work in a humorous sense.  Consider this a warm-up for a broader showing of this moral later on.  

For now, this cartoon is an entertainingly impressive work that shows off what makes the series as strong as it is in the face of censorship.

A+

Cartoon Ranking

1.      This Pun for Hire

2.      Go Fish

3.      Valuable Lesson

4.      The Sound of Warners

5.      Dot’s Entertainment

6.      Buttons in Ows

7.      Star Truck

8.      Our Final Space Cartoon We Promise

9.      Yabba Dabba Boo

10.  The Party

11.  The Girl with the Googily Goop

12.  Gimme the Works

13.  My Mother the Squirrel

14.  Hercules Unwound

15.  Belly Button Blues

16.  Oh Say Can You See

17.  Soccer Coach Slappy

Song Ranking

1.      Multiplication

Miscellaneous Ranking

1.      Gunga Dot

2.      The 12 Days of Christmas

Be sure to stay tuned for the review of the next episode all about music with a 2-note song, the Panama Canal, Hello Nurse, Magellan, the Great Wakkorotti, and a wrap party.

If you would like to check out other Animaniacs reviews on this blog, click here for the guide made especially for them.